I’m 24, Single, and Live With My Parents

Ok, so I guess the fact that I’m employed makes me a somewhat functioning member of society. Still, as my Mom has been so lovingly saying over the past few weeks, “You’re going to be 24 and what have you accomplished?” She says that in her ‘I love you and all but seriously …’ voice. It did get me thinking, what are the accomplishments a 24 year old should have reached by this point in life? Here are the few big ones I came up with.

Graduate College: Check. Its been almost a year and a half now, which is hard to believe. Do I have to go to grad school? I don’t think its a requirement. I’m on the fence about going myself. What I do know is that I’m not going to grad school just to go, I will have a clear goal in mind.

Have a Job: Check. It took a little while to find the job, a little longer to start getting paid, and then a while longer until I was actually given work to do. Its actually more complicated than that sounds, if you can believe it. I actually have a really good job for such a recent graduate. I think my salary is fairly decent, I get 27 paid days off a year (if you count holidays), hours are flexible and I don’t have to work much overtime. The work isn’t stressful and my co-workers are easy to get along with. It could be better: I could have internet at my desk and be allowed to bring in my iPod. Just things I will be aware of if the next job I look for is in the same field.

Move Out: Not yet. I see both sides to this argument. My side … I have a reasonable commute, I get along with my Mom and Step-Dad just fine, and of course its cheaper. Yes, I do pay rent but its not that much considering it includes food and utilities. Paying for a cable package like this on my own would make me go broke within days. Not having to worry about making dinner every night is another huge plus. The other side … To me the most appealing thing your own place is the space. I feel like I’m still living at college, just without a roommate. All my stuff is packed into one room. I don’t have a separate room to put things. I don’t have a living room with a sofa and coffee table. Everything I own is either in my room or stored somewhere else (basement, garage, etc.). I’m not someone who stays out to all hours or does things that my parents will have a problem with causing tension in the house. I’m not planning on moving out just to do it and cross another thing off the checklist. Put this one on the Things to Accomplish by 25 list.

Be in a Relationship/Married: Nada. Sometime in the future a discussion will have to be had on the merits of this being an accomplishment. For my generation this concern likely moves to the list of accomplishments by 30. So I’m not worried about this too much right now.